QUOTE (ColoredTuffs.com @ Jun 24 2010, 04:23 PM)
That certainly could have been brought up, as the rules that Mike came up with last year state that a "one-off" is supposed to be in the Custom class. It would have been different in this situation if Standard sold that frame, even in limited numbers, to the general public.
The rules do state that an issue like this is supposed to be brought up in written form, by 2 members of the voting community and handed to a VintageBMX.com official, before the polls close, so that the bike can be switched into the correct class.
Apparently nobody followed through on that, so the bike remained in the retro class.
That's why it's important for everybody to know the "rules of competition!"
You pegged it, Ed. Had someone gotten together and lodged a protest, the show marshals may have taken some action. I've heard it said that those people did not want to be jerks about things, so let it go at the show. That is unfortunate. People decried the extent of the rules leading up to the show, but I tried my best to build an architecture where issues like this could be addressed in an objective way, by the people who have a stake in the class. Not "concerned citizens," but the guys who stand to win or lose the most.
If, somehow, this discussion is directed at the show management for not stepping in and pulling the entry, all I can say is without an official "roll-by" review panel to say "thumbs up/thumbs-down" on EVERY entry before they are given their tags, I feel it is unfair for the show marshals to go out on the hunt looking for reasons to black flag entries, until and unless there is a bona-fide protest by people in the class in question.
One thing about
successful protests though: If a protest is made, and an entry is adjudged to be in the wrong class
after voting has started, it is
disqualified from the show...it cannot be re-classified and given a new tag. If before voting has started, it can be given a new tag, at the discretion of the show marshals.
As far as the gold plated bike, the rules of the 2010 show state that "if the 'nude" (no paint, no decals) appearance of an entry is unaltered from a factory-built product, then it is permitted in the people's choice category without being considered a custom"
The reason for this is one of "how deep do you take it?" If you are not going to allow non-factory gold or copper plating, then you really should not allow anything but original factory finishes, because the spirit of re-coating is the same as plating in a non-factory metal. Granted, there are degrees between a modern green and an Anlun Green that are nearly identical, and a finish that the factory never offered in the first place. But how do you stop someone from protesting on the basis that it is a few shades or tones lighter or darker than factory? Technically, the factory never offered that either. Do we rent one of those color computers from Benjamin Moore? I am not being facetious...it would really be helpful if we are splitting hairs to that degree.
All the while, this is a show which is free to enter (except for the last minute, on-site entries), and the total expense of producing the show is born by the show promoter based on banquet and raffle ticket sales.
I read on another site that someone questioned the origin of the pads on Chris Campbell's Best In Show build because the blue was too dark. Astute observation. So if a person shows up next year with a green Haro Master that is a shade or two off of factory fresh, then what? Technically, THAT is not an original color either. So, if the bike is primo in every other way (as primo as a re-coated build can get, at least), but has been re-chromed or re-powdered, should it be in with the customs on that basis? Personally, I don't think so. This is why we decided to do the "judged" category. So finishes or parts that were more-modern-than-original could be evaluated critically by the judges and "docked" on that basis, if they felt that was appropriate. The People's Choice category would be more about what each individual voter thinks is best. People dig bling, so they voted for it. It is a
People's choice category, afterall, so the collective wisdom of what the people think is cool is going to come out. If you, as an entrant, are not comfortable with that, the Judged category awaits.
The Judged class has been established to be the "Expert" class, where the all-original big boy builds play, and you might lose due to an improper valve stem (not to say such a thing happened this year).
In the past two years, we have added the Open class and the Custom class to try and bring the entries that have caused questions in years past out of the general population. I really do not see adding any other classes. Maybe, in the Post Mortem thread that is yet to come, we can discuss how to address the exotic finishes debate in a way that makes everyone happy, and does not create unexpected paradoxes in other areas of the show.
Best,
M
Jun 24 2010, 08:13 AM
